Glossary Term – Organization

Anti-Federalists, including Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and George Mason, opposed the Constitution of 1787 primarily based on the fear that it would create an overly powerful central government and elite ruling class. Though Anti-Federalists failed to prevent the adoption of the Constitution, their objections did lead to the inclusion of the Bill of Rights. In 1791, with the ascendancy of the Federalist Party, which favored strong government and a loose interpretation of the Constitution, Anti-Federalists and others who favored small...

Glossary Term – Organization

The Democratic-Republican Party was formed by Thomas Jefferson and others who believed in an agrarian-based, decentralized, democratic government. The party was established to oppose the Federalists who had supported and pushed through the ratification of the US Constitution. The party came into power with Thomas Jefferson’s election in 1801 and held the nation’s highest office through the election of Andrew Jackson in 1824. Jackson’s election was contentious, however, with the party dividing its support between him and John Quincy Adams....